Local administrator leaves mark on nonprofit organization

Thad AngellozStaff Writer

Wednesday

Nov 18, 2009 at 12:30 PM

HOUMA — What was supposed to last five years turned into a 40-plus year career for 81-year-old G.J. “Jerry” Bridges.Bridges, who’s spent the last 40 years as the president of MacDonell United Methodist Children Services in Houma, will step away from his current position at the end of this month.“The board at the time (1974) was pleased with the job I was doing, so they asked me to stay on long-term,” Bridges said. “I still believe to this day that this job was my life’s calling.”MacDonell, which was founded as a French Mission in 1919 by Ella K. Hooper and Laura White, deaconesses of the Methodist Espicopal Church South, served primarily as a school for girls in its early years.In 1952, MacDonell became a home serving children, who for various reasons, needed to live away from their homes. Over the years, MacDonell has evolved into a therapeutic residential home for school-aged children.MacDonell currently sees to the needs of more than 30 boys and girls at 8326 Main St. “It’s amazing how much has happened here,” Bridges said. “When I began, we had a staff of seven or eight workers with $100,000 in yearly funding. Now we employ 60 people with $1 million in money coming into us yearly.”Along with building strong relationships with his workers, Bridges feels grateful he’s been able to make a difference in the lives of young people.Of the children and adolescents currently staying at MacDonell, many of them come from backgrounds that would be hard for anyone to imagine, Bridges said.“We’ve seen it all,” he said about the cases he and his staff have dealt with. “We’ve had kids who’ve come to us having been shuffled from one foster family to another their entire lives. We’re able to reach some of them through our program, but others it just doesn’t work out. But that’s never stopped us from trying to make a difference.”The children and adolescents living on the MacDonell property in Houma came to the site via the state system.“They come to us through referrals,” Bridges said. “The state buys a spot from us for them to stay in a safe, secure environment.”While rewarding, Bridges said the work performed at MacDonell is tough.“The entire family dynamic has changed so much over the years,” he said. “It used to be having a child out of wedlock was the worst thing someone could imagine. Now it’s something people treat as a badge of honor.”For whatever reason, children and adolescents at MacDonell have been either abandoned by their parents or abused to the point where they’ve been taken out of their unsafe environments.“It’s hard for most people to imagine what these young people have gone through because it’s not what most of us were exposed to growing up,” Bridges said. “We’ve undergone an attack on the family and it’s really affected young people in a negative way.”Bridges said he doesn’t take any credit for the good things that happen daily at MacDonell. He instead chooses to point to his employees.“They’re the ones that make the biggest difference,” he said. “I’m just an administrator. My philosophy has always been to hire good people and let them do their jobs. I’ve been blessed to have a bunch of them in my years here.”Danielle Robinson, vice president for resource development at MacDonell, said her boss’s approach has always made her and others feel comfortable.“He’s laid back and puts a lot of trust in us,” said Robinson, whose been working in Houma for several years. “He will be sorely missed when he leaves. It will definitely be a lot different not having him in that office right across the hall from me.”After spending 40 years on the grounds of MacDonell, Bridges is preparing to embark on a new chapter in his life in Thibodaux.He’s still unpacking boxes in a home he’s been renovating in the historic section of downtown Thibodaux.“I love the area,” Bridges said. “I plan on spending the first month or two of my retirement on my front porch watching the world go by. After that I will see what the chief (God) wants me to do next.”One thing Bridges won’t do is be a fixture on the MacDonell grounds.“When I drive away on my last day, that’s it,” Bridges said. “I’ll answer any questions the new director has, but I’m not giving out advice. I feel that’s the best way to do things.” Longtime board member and current chairman Grace M. Gueydan said she will miss Bridges tremendously.Gueydan retired as the dean of the Department of Life Science at Nicholls State University in 2003 and worked at the university in various capacities for 33 years.“He’s a very special individual,” Gueydan said. “He made a difference in children’s lives and was someone that always kept board members such as myself informed about what was going on there. We’re saddened by his departure, but glad he’ll get a chance to enjoy his retirement.”

Staff Writer Thad Angelloz can be reached at 857-2207 or at thad.angelloz@houmatoday.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.